Because the best graduation party is also the most eco-friendly!
A loved one’s graduation is such a joyful reason for a party! And the commercial world has really picked up on that, with endless options of stuff you can buy to have the graduation party of your dreams.
Except is it, though, if it involves buying a bunch of stuff that you won’t reuse and have to figure out how to dispose of? My favorite party is always the DIY version, with personal, handmade components that are made from eco-friendly materials. I especially love recycled–and recyclable!–elements that I can toss right back into the recycling bin afterwards, but my favorite thing about DIY projects is how I can customize everything to really reflect the personality of the graduate I’m celebrating.
So when you read through my list of my favorite DIY graduation party projects, below, think about how you can customize each piece for YOUR graduate. Even if you just add in a couple of DIY components to a mostly conventional party, that’s a lot of extra love for your graduate!
Burlap Banner
I LOVE working with burlap–it’s eco-friendly, easy to cut and sew, and takes all kinds of embellishments like a champ. In this tutorial, you save a ton of extra cutting and sewing steps by simply painting your message onto burlap pennants, because paint is one of those embellishments that works great on burlap!
Clay Pot Graduation Cap
The fact that this graduation cap centerpiece is made from a clay pot makes it an extra fun decoration for an outdoor graduation party. And after the party is over, turn that pot right side up and plant some flowers!
World Traveler Map
Does your graduate love to travel? I love this idea of a world map display on which your graduate can show off all their adventures, past and future! To make it interactive, set out push pins or pin flags and invite guests to also mark their most memorable destinations, or make suggestions about where your graduate should travel next.
Collaged Cardboard Letters
These decoupaged letters, ideally personalized with the graduate’s name, would make a sweet addition to a tablescape or centerpiece. Definitely put them somewhere where guests can give them the time and attention to detail that they deserve! The original tutorial calls for glitter, but I think you should use only easily recyclable materials like photo paper and cardstock, because as sweet as they are, I can nearly guarantee that NO young adult will want them as a keepsake afterwards. Kids these days are so unsentimental!
Painted Graduation Year
There are so many ways to decorate with 3D cardboard letters and numbers, and for bonus points, you can actually DIY those cardboard letters and numbers, too! I love the idea here of painting them as a less time-intensive method to create a graduation party decoration that you’ll potentially use only once. Buutttttt… if you made a full set of numbers (including doubles), you could also pull them out for every birthday!
Printable Pennants
Paper is such an easy–and easily recyclable!–way to decorate. Add some pops of color to these fun pennants and use them as a garland to decorate for your party, or at individual place settings for a graduation dinner. Or, if children will be at your party, set them up with supplies to color their own pennants at a dedicated table, and then let them show off their creations in a DIY photo booth!
Mason Jars with Graduation Caps
This is a cute way to fancy up some otherwise very plain containers. Use them to hold bulk candies for a candy bar, or to decorate small jars that hold party favors. How cute would it be if your kid’s school colors included something that worked as jam? I would LOVE homemade jam as a party favor!
Photo Banner
Picture this: you make this photo banner using photos of the graduate from every year of school, but you swap out the DIY party hats for DIY cardstock mortar boards with embroidery floss tassels. How cute would that be? To include all the guests, you could even ask them for their graduation photos beforehand, and incorporate them into the banner. Everyone likes to see old graduation photos–for the hairstyles, if nothing else!
DIY Tassel
If there’s not a tassel on every single thing, up to and including the family dog, is it even a graduation party? This simple tutorial walks you through making a tassel from any material, so you can give the graduation party treatment to everything that will hold still long enough!
Vintage Suitcase Card Box
How sweet is this spot where guests can leave their congratulations? It would be even cuter to use something from the graduate’s own childhood, like their old toybox or preschool backpack.
P.S. Also in need of some ideas for handmade graduation cards? Here you go!
